Confusion
by everfaraway
Summary: First S6 yaoi try. DukexSpirit don't shoot me Rating may go up if I feel brave


When Did It Begin?

(Duke's P.O.V.)

**Author: My first Sigma 6 Yaoi (to be) fic. This chap. is from Duke's P.O.V.: mostly past tense but present towards the end. Characters belong to Hasbro, not me. **

I wasn't sure what he was like when I met him. When I traveled to meet with him on the Naravjo reservation where he lived, he seemed normal. He was dressed nicely: a button down shirt, slacks and the boots he always wears. His hair was down and he hid his tribal tattoos under a jacket. I stepped out of the jeep in front of his house, picked up at the airport by a close friend of his. He thanked him and then greeted me in Naravjo. The language was foreign to my ears so I stood there, unsure what to say. He chuckled and said, "Forgive me. I'm used to speaking the language of my people. We don't get many visitors here." I immediately liked his deep voice.

"Oh." I whispered. _"He's going think you're an idiot."_ I thought. "It's alright. I don't understand why though." I added quickly.

"I should say: I don't get many visitors from outside the reservation. I am a bit of a recluse." he explained. Before I could speak again there was a sound from inside, something like a soft scream. I looked at him, eyes wide with curiousity.

My mind raced, _"Does he have a wife? Is he going to be leaving his children?" _

"Come here." he called, opening the door. A few seconds later, a large bird flew out to land on the porch railing. "This is Billy. I have raised him from the time he was very small." he explained. The falcon stared at me, before extending a wing to preen.

"He's huge, is he a peregrine?" I asked, more than just a little mesmerized.

"Yes." he said.

_"I think my respect points just went up. Or I just earned some."_ I thought. I let my eyes waunder over the bird: taking in his talons, beak and his massive wings.

"What do they call you?" he asked me.

"My codename's Duke." I told him.

"Charlie Iron-knife." he said.

"I know, the guys in charge gave me a picture and a name. Then they said, Go find him." I joked. He chuckled quietly as both our stomachs growled. Billy looked at him and then me. _"Note to self: do not piss off the bird."_ I thought, hiding a grin.

"Do you eat jerky?" he asked.

"Can't do without it." I told him. He went back inside as I stood on the porch with the falcon. "Can I touch you?" I asked. Billy's eyes followed my hand as I touched his wing. I took the fact that he didn't tear my hand apart as a good sign. He instead nibbled my hand and I stroked his light grey chest. The screen door shut behind us.

"Billy has never let a stranger touch him, without repremands." Charlie told me.

Walking with him was an adventure all it's own. Our strides matched perfectly as if we were old friends and had walked a thousand times together. The deer jerky we ate was great: gamey and spicey all at once. He showed me a world that I had never known existed while in Missouri. It was the world where the animals were not tame, but would approach you if they didn't think you were a threat. I watched a mother whitetailed deer bring her fawn right up to us, but not close enough to let us touch it. The fawn was very young, still having it's white spots. The mother was beautiful and even let us touch her neck. After a while I finally brought up why I had come in the first place, would he join a team to help fight Cobra. He didn't have to think about his answer. They were threaten-ing what he showed me that day, the world he knew and he would fight for it.

Spirit, as we came to call him, was a valueable asset to the team. He and Hi-Tech never really saw eye to eye about technology but they got along. Billy grew to love picking on Tunnel Rat which we all found amusing. Long Range worked very well with him when I put them on a mission together. They, like Spirit and I along with Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat, had a natural chemistry. I found myself trusting Spirit more and more as time wore on. His talent to find what we needed him to and sense the most subtle things was unrivaled. I still trusted all of Hi-Tech's toys, but what he couldn't make a gadget to copy was everything Spirit was. He was unique as they came, using technology to fight but trusting nature to show him where to go. There was something about him that peo-ple respected. Just when I thought I knew him, he would surprise me once again.

His sleeveless Sigma Suit not only showed his muscular frame but also his tribal tattoos When he tied his hair back with his red headband and put that streak of grey under his eyes, he became a different person. Spirit was serious, but was still the man I had joked with. His loyalty was unshakable as I had seen when Cobra Commander used his Snake Staff to shock the hell out of me while I ordered Spirit to take Tunnel Rat and get out. The look in his eyes, so close to tears, was heartbreaking and it took all of my resolve to order him to leave. Later while I found my team again, all of us a bit worse for wear but alive, I was glad to see he had made it out. Tunnel Rat hadn't just jumped into the air when I showed up, but he jumped on me. Unfortunately he landed on my back and shoulders which were sore enough without his help. Scarlett hauled the hyper red head away as I fought through the pain. When I got back up again, Spirit was there next to me. The look in his eyes was easy to read: he was as glad to see me as I was him.

For all the people I had met and all the places I had been, Charlie Iron-Knife who we affectionately call Spirit is one of a kind. Now as I sit listening to his latest story: how Destro used his Mind Reapers to control us, I'm again impressed. The virtual theatre had been a trap, one we should have all expected when there was nothing else to be found in the museum. Spirit's somewhere between the man I first met and the man I know. His headband sits on the table and the grey streak of face paint has been washed away, but he's still in his Sigma Suit. He talks about how he had knocked the first Mind Reaper aimed at him away. I'm not surprised that when we fell he was standing. Somehow he was always tougher than the rest of us even Heavy Duty and Snake Eyes. I don't remember any of it; he had been unwilling to to defend himself againest us. He had lowered his bow and taken shots until the wall exploded, blasting him back into the hallway.

"I wonder if they'll forgive you for making your own door?" I joke.

Spirit glances at me with a smirk and asked, "Weren't you supposed to sit there and be quiet while I told the story?" I motion for him to continue. He finishes with how he lay in the midst of the rubble before sitting up. It was a mistake, he admits, he should have stayed down. The Mind Reaper hit him, clamping onto his face. I remember that when it happened to me. It was extremely painful, but I was too surprised to fight back. We fall into silence as I watch him. He's an enigma and maybe that's what I like best about him, but I'm confused. I don't know how I really feel, or if I even want to figure it out.

**Author: I am re-watching Sigma 6 S2 & sat through the episode where Hi-Tech builds H.O.U.N.D. I think it was interesting how close Duke & Spirit seem to be in the series. I just took those moments & ran with them. R&R, no flames. Ninja Enchantress: Thanks for reviewing my other S6 fics. Lacking plot twists & work-ing on lots of other projects at the moment, updates will come ASAP. A floppy drive that stopped working is also a problem.**


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